Elimination of Saturday mail will not negatively affect area post offices

One less day of junk mail and bills.

Most area residents say the elimination of letter-sized mail delivery on Saturdays is long overdue, and are happy they won’t have to check the mailbox to find fliers, advertisements and yet another bill to add to their growing pile.

Comment

By Denise Bonura/The Record Herald

Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

By Denise Bonura/The Record Herald

Posted Feb. 7, 2013 at 1:00 PM

By Denise Bonura/The Record Herald

Posted Feb. 7, 2013 at 1:00 PM

One less day of junk mail and bills.

Most area residents say the elimination of letter-sized mail delivery on Saturdays is long overdue, and are happy they won’t have to check the mailbox to find fliers, advertisements and yet another bill to add to their growing pile.

The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday it will eliminate delivering letter-sized mail on Saturdays, beginning the week of Aug. 5. However, carriers will still deliver packages, and post offices will still be open. Post Office boxes also will receive mail on Saturdays.

The move is expected to save the USPS about $2 billion a year, and is not expected to have any negative impact on area post offices.

“The transition’s purpose is to sustain the postal service overall,” Tad Kelley, a spokesman with the U.S. Postal Service’s Western Pennsylvania district, said Wednesday. “We had a $15.5 billion deficit last year. We simply cannot sustain with the dwindling mail volumes. People are changing their communications these days, and are using email and paying bills online.”

Kelley noted the USPS has seen a 14 percent increase in package deliveries in recent years.

“We are adjusting accordingly based on the folks that use us, the American public,” he added.

“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and CEO, in a news release. “We developed this approach by working with our customers to understand their delivery needs and by identifying creative ways to generate significant cost savings.”

Area post offices

Kelley assured the transition will not have a negative impact on area post offices.

“We have a little over 200,000 letter carriers across the country, and we are looking at reducing that number by 35,000,” he said, noting the USPS is not looking to lay off any employees. “We have 67 districts across the country, and since 2006, we have successfully reduced the number of positions by 193,000 without a layoff. And we will continue to be a responsible employer in that aspect.”

He added the savings will be built into a number of capacities in addition to the position elimination, including reduced transportation and vehicle maintenance costs.

“We want to sustain the U.S. delivery, while operating the large U.S. Postal Service without the use of taxpayer money,” Kelley added.